History of medicine

The metamorphosis of autism

'A history of child development in Britain

Series edited by Professor Keir Waddington, Bonnie Evans

Description

What is autism and where has it come from? Increased diagnostic rates, the rise of the 'neurodiversity' movement, and growing autism journalism, have recently fuelled autism's fame and controversy. The metamorphosis of autism is the first book to explain our current fascination with autism by linking it to a longer history of childhood development. Drawing from a staggering array of primary sources, Bonnie Evans traces autism back to its origins in the early twentieth century and explains why the idea of autism has always been controversial and why it experienced a 'metamorphosis' in the 1960s and 1970s. Evans takes the reader on a journey of discovery from the ill-managed wards of 'mental deficiency' hospitals, to high-powered debates in the houses of parliament, and beyond. The book will appeal to a wide market of scholars and others interested in autism, neurodiversity and how this relates to wider theories of children's psychological development.

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Author Biography

Bonnie Evans is Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow in the History Department at Queen Mary, University of London

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Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date February 2017
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9780719095924
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatHardback
  • Primary Price 25 GBP
  • Pages512
  • ReadershipCollege/Tertiary Education
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions216 x 138 mm
  • Illustration3 black & white illustrations, 7 tables
  • Biblio NotesIntroduction: Perceiving, describing and modelling child development Part I: The first autism: The observation and description of child development before 1959 1: The first autism 2: The first autism controversies 3: Inside the Maudsley Psychotic Clinic in the 1950s Part II: How Autism became Autism 4: The transformation of social life and the transformation of autism in the 1960s 5: How do you measure a social impairment? 6: Epidemiology, epidemics and autism as a global health crisis Conclusion Index
  • SeriesSocial Histories of Medicine
  • Series Part2

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